City Hallways (Nov. 29) Parking tickets you don't have to pay

Before the Thanksgiving holiday I got a call that the city issued parking tickets Nov. 21 on streets that, the city had previously announced, it was OK to park on prior to Nov. 22.

It was the announcement that Mayor Brown's office made the previous week. Given the warmer-than-expected weather, the mayor's office said, winter parking restrictions for bus routes -- scheduled to take effect Nov. 15 -- would be pushed back a week until Tuesday, Nov. 22.

But the ticketing started on Monday, Nov. 21.

When I ran into Kevin Helfer, the city's parking commissioner on Monday, I asked him about it.

It was a misunderstanding that ticketed motorists won't have to pay for, Helfer said.

He had intended for the winter rules to resume Nov. 21, Helfer said.

But since the public announcement said they wouldn't start until Nov. 22, bus route parking tickets issued on Nov. 21 are invalidated, according to the parking commissioner.

So they don't count. They don't have to be paid.

If someone already paid, Helfer said, they should call the city's 311 line, and they will be given their money back.